1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector including a crimp contact and a connector housing in which the crimp contact is inserted and held.
2. Prior Art
In the prior art, in order that a connector cable be crimped and connected to a crimp contact and that the crimp contact be inserted into a connector housing, a cable 22 is mounted to the crimp contact 21, crimped and electrically connected to the crimp contact in a crimping portion 23, and fixed, for example, as shown in FIG. 3. Then, the crimp contact 21 is inserted from an opening at one end of the connector housing 24 made of a synthetic resin.
Thereafter, the crimp contact is made to pass over a protrusion 25 and is engaged. The protrusion 25 is formed on a resilient molded lance 24a of the connector housing 24. The protrusion 25 is located in an intermediate position of the longitudinal extent of the crimp contact 21 and projects in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the crimp contact. The crimp contact 21 is locked against backward motion. In this way, the molded lance is formed in the direction of insertion of the crimp contact 21, thus forming a means for preventing the crimp contact from disengaging.
Another known structure is shown in FIG. 4, where a crimp contact 26 has a flexible contact lance 26a. If the crimp contact 26 is inserted into a connector housing 27 from the opening at one end of the housing 27 after a cable 22 has been connected and held to the crimp contact 26, the front end of the contact lance 26a falls when it passes over a step portion 27a and becomes caught on the step portion 27a which is formed in an intermediate position of the longitudinal extent of the housing 27 inside the housing 27. In this way, the crimp contact is prevented from moving in the direction opposite to the direction of insertion and thus does not disengage. Such conventional electrical connectors have structures as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, where the connectors are known to have contact lances 28a and 29a, respectively. Furthermore, a connector described in JPA-2006221819 is known.
In such conventional electrical connectors, however, a spear-like or wedge-like protrusion, known as a lance, is formed in the direction of insertion of the crimp contact 21 or crimp contact 26 and, therefore, disconnection is prevented. A slight gap is left between the front-end surface of the lance and the end surface of the engagement portion. This produces rattling in the direction of insertion. If the crimp contact is used repeatedly, the engagement between the lance and the engagement portion becomes less tight gradually. There arises a problem that if the crimp contact is strongly pulled in the direction reverse to the direction of insertion, the crimp contact comes off.